I've just noticed my game-time increased even though I was out. Then tested this for 10 minutes and it's clear GOG Galaxy tracks time as long as the game's exe is running.

How is galaxy supposed to know you have paused the game or are in a game menu?? That just makes no sense...

By modifying the code for every game to include some API calls of course, duh.

Sounds doable.

Let's start with Ultima 1.

Why start with 1, when we have 0?

I don't understand the appeal of tracking game time in the first place, "oh look, I just wasted two days of my life playing VHelsing" - for example. Have an achievement for pointlessness.

Couldn't it detect at least when you press the menu key? (different for each game)
. Uh.. yeah, probably I wouldn't care about it too.

So you want some kind of TSR that constantly keeps track of everything that's running and depending on what's running keeps track of your input, be that keyboard, mouse or controller, and tries to guesstimate if you've entered a menu?

I'm just randomly brainstorming, but something like:
- Galaxy is running and this option is enabled.
- game X is running, check if its windows has focus. If not, pause the counter.
- game X is focused and has its menu key set to A: monitor that key.

I take it further; I would actually prefer if games wouldn't track time in the first place, at least not by default.

(Then again, I actually prefer it when games *don't* have voice acting.)

I would prefer that Galaxy ONLY tracks time when games that HAVE voice acting AND have voice acting enabled ARE actively played AND DON'T use voice acting. Ie. games that DON'T have voice acting should NEVER be tracked, and games that DO, should NOT be tracked whenever voice acting IS played, but SHOULD whenever voice acting is NOT played.

Make it so, NOW! GOG.

EDIT: Also, reverse this while in any kind of menus or the player is actively jumping - or trying to jump if the game doesn't support jumping.

Shouldn't be very difficult. I mean, the GOG team are wizards, are they not?

Maybe when an overlay happens GOG can add in a checkbox or something that allows the stoppage of game time. Really though, there are more important things to be working on.

I hate to the Negative Nelly all the time, but except for the focus checking it's just not practical.
And even the focus checking might be a bit iffy.
Say you're playing a modern game like W3, in these games the 'menu' is where nearly everything is done in different tabs such as inventory management, crafting and reading in-game books and messages.
And often the map as well, which would mean you wouldn't be tracking any of that time because you pressed the menu key.
And if the menu key is Escape and I jam it 5 times to skip different cutscenes?
Now no time is being logged at all.
Focus checking would probably work, although it might be possible to have a full screen window on your secondary monitor that is not in focus, but the game is still playable with the controller. Not exactly a situation that pops up a lot and I don't know if it's even possible, but I'm just pointing out theoretical situations wherein such a solution would fail.

No problem, we're just casually discussing, it's not like we're actually going to implement anything :P
Modern games would simply use those API calls, so I was thinking more about old unmodifiable titles.
Anyway, I see your points.

EDIT: btw, the counter could also be paused due to user inactivity, in theory.